


chasing dreams in chains

by kanoven



Category: Naruto
Genre: Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Fluff and Angst, M/M, Obito also doesn't want to impersonate Sasuke, Obito has a dilemma, Sasuke really doesn't want to impersonate Tobi, Time Travel, and he really doesn't try, but he tries, oh did I mention Obito and Sasuke swapped bodies
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-08-15
Updated: 2019-12-04
Packaged: 2020-09-01 09:53:04
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 7,836
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20256187
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kanoven/pseuds/kanoven
Summary: “……” Collar still in Uzumaki Naruto's hand, Obito covered his utter confusion with the Uchihas' signature indifference without missing a heartbeat, “What do you want.”Rule number one of pretending to be an arrogant ass, all questions and exclamations are statements.Or,Post Fourth Shinobi War, Obito Uchiha wakes up back in the past, in a body not his own.





	1. lost in the world

**Author's Note:**

> Naruto does not belong to me, despite what I may wish, that honour (and horror) goes to Kishimoto. This fic also doesn't belong to me (dammit), it was originally written by 带卡厨啦~/ 一条认命的咸鱼 in chinese, and this is my translation of it - with permission, of course.
> 
> Hope ya all enjoy the ride, let's get down to it! *fist pump*

“_Bang! Bang! Bang!_”

Incessant banging roused Uchiha Obito from his sleep.

His eyelids trembled, and in the span of a few seconds, Obito’s mind went through a rollercoaster ride beginning with the incredulity of ‘_huh I’m not dead’ _moving onto the fury of ‘_which fucker interfered with me dying?!_’ finally ending with a raised eyebrow at the clean, brightly lit room: _so this is how Konoha treat war criminals?_

He propped himself up, feeling uncoordinated and only a pitiful amount of chakra in his body— but that was to be expected. Even if he had ‘turned back to shore’, as the saying went, Konoha’s authority couldn’t possibly trust the BOSS of their Fourth Shinobi War and welcome a dangerous criminal like him with open arms. So, he looked up instead, staring right at the source of his alarm.

_Someone pounding on a window? _

Uchiha Obito couldn’t help but be amused at his situation. He didn’t opt to open the window, instead giving his surroundings a leisure one-over: spacious, but nothing to show the owner’s likes or character; not many shelves or cupboards, making it seem empty; though there were quite a few calligraphy hangings, advising hard work or manners— typical of prestigious clans.

In stark contrast with the meagre number of personal items, scrolls were everywhere: stacked on the table, piled on the cupboard, spread on the sofa… an astonishing amount, but neatly organised.

Two framed photos on the bedside table caught Obito’s attention: one was an Uchiha family photo, Fugaku holding his arms and staring straight ahead with an air of seriousness, gaze holding the type of aloofness and solemnity reserved for the head of an old and prestigious clan. Mikoto was much gentler and loving, half crouching, one child in each arm: Uchiha Itachi had a reserved smile, whereas Uchiha Sasuke was leaning towards his brother with a bright grin. In the other photo – no, half a photo –Sasuke’s eyes were gleaming happily as he was sneaking a glance up at ‘someone’—someone whose figure had been ripped away.

Obito couldn’t help but reach forward and touch the photos, it was the Uchiha… his clansmen.

_Ha. _

It was so ironic it was laughable: if those obstinate Uchiha were still alive and knew that he, a perpetrator of the massacre, was living in Uchiha Sasuke’s home, living in what was probably the last remaining place with any mark left by an Uchiha… oh deary, they’d probably jump out of their graves?

Shaking his head, Obito retracted his hand, gaze falling onto his own wrist—

_Hah? Wait wait wait! Where’s the white Zetsu half of his body?_

Thrown off balance, he touched the face that was supposed to be riddled with scars.

Very smooth….

_What the fuck did Konoha do to his body?!!!_

Uchiha Obito, promptly, exploded.

He hopped off the bed, ignoring the weird angle (was he shorter?), and scrambled to get in front of the mirror. The mirror reflected, very honestly, a handsome teen: slender body, beautiful but impassive features… tch! A face bound to attract crowds of ladies!

Tch… ha! Ha!

Obito felt his expression contort. The mirror continued to faithfully reflect his fine features—pretty lips curled up into a twisted smile, a murderous gleam in his eyes… well, even fangirls would be terrified now.

“_Bang! Bang! Bang!”_

The perpetrator of sound pollution still hasn’t given up on abusing the poor window, and probably becoming irritated, began yelling: “Sasuke!!! Get out!!!” 

“……” That voice sounded familiar. Uchiha Obito glanced at the shadow cast on the curtains. If it was a little deeper, it’d overlap perfectly with the voice of the ‘hero’ that couldn’t shut up on Fourth War’s battlefield.

It was difficult to say how many theories and suspicions crossed Obito’s mind in that moment as he wordlessly formed the kai seal (to no avail), wordlessly pulled open the curtains, shoved open the window (nearly knocking over his visitor) and came face to face with the thirteen-year-old version of Uzumaki Naruto. 

Uzumaki Naruto looked even more furious than Uchiha Obito. His mind had raced through just about a thousand reasons as to why Sasuke wasn’t at the graduation: secret training, an urgent request, he even considered the possibility that Sasuke went on a date with some girl! The only thing he didn’t think of...

Sasuke overslept.

Give him a break!

“Sasuke-teme!” Naruto felt incredible stupid, and here Sakura and he were seriously worried about this guy! He grabbed Sasuke’s pyjama collar without hesitation and wrenched the boy towards himself, who was still squatting on the window sill. “Did you know Sakura was waiting for you?! And you were freaking sleeping!!!”

“……” Obito picked up the Uchiha’s signature cold and indifferent demeanour without batting an eyelid, “What do you want.”

Rule number one of pretending to be an arrogant ass, all questions and exclamations are statements.

Though the only thing his indifference invited was a harder shake from Naruto, who still had his pyjama collar in his clutches. “Sasuke!!! Do you know what day today is?! Today is the freaking graduation dattebayo!!!” 

“…….?” Keeping up the Uchiha-style facial paralysis, Obito scoured through his deepest, earliest memories for the events that happened before he became a genin. Naruto’s indignation helped him determine what time period he had landed in, but the blonde hair and cerulean eyes so like his father, Obito’s sensei, called up memories Obito thought he had already buried instead: scratching his head with a stupid smile as he turned up late, getting yelled at by Kakashi, Rin trying to break up their fight without knowing where to start.

The carefree and vivacious images made the thirty-one-year old Obito sigh… and made him forget someone was staring at him.

“Sasuke! What are you waiting for!!” pre-fourth-war-Naruto interrupted Obito’s flyaway train of thoughts and shoved ‘Sasuke’ inside before hopping into the room himself and shifting through Uchiha Sasuke’s wardrobe like it’s his own, chucking out some clothes, “Oi, get changed teme! We’re gonna meet our sensei in the afternoon! _Sasuke_!”

“…….” Blue and white clothing flew into Obito’s face and obscured his view. Trained response as a shinobi made him react on instinct and pull the fabric off, but his mind still hadn’t caught up.

“What’s your problem?! Don’t make Sakura wait again!”

“Oh…” The Uchiha blinked, nodded, and was yanked outside.

The bad thing about spacing out when you’re walking, is that you’ll always crash into someone at a corner.

“Ah, sorry, sorry. Are you alright?” The other party’s response was lightning fast; a deft side-step to avoid collision and the man reached out to steady Obito’s shoulders without a hitch, saving him from falling over from the momentum. 

The man’s voice was special… no, not quite special, but the kind that you won’t forget; there was a hint of concern, but at the same time lazy and superficially careless. Obito looked up. Without surprise, he saw a mass of messy, spiked silver hair, a crooked hitai-ate and a navy mask covering half the man’s face, resulting in a ‘mysterious’ look where you can only really see a quarter of the guy’s face.

“Thank you.” Obito replied, blandly.

“Ahh I’m sorry,” Naruto scratched his head, “It wasn’t on purpose…”

“It’s nothing.” Obito shook his head.

It was a simple statement, but when he turned the Nine-tailed brat was gaping at him like he was possessed by some sort of terrifying monster: Eh? Ehhh? Sasuke-teme didn’t insult him?!

Dazed, he reached for Sasuke’s hand, preparing for a mad sprint to prevent them from being late… eh? Naruto had to turn around when his teammate didn't budge.

‘Sasuke’ stuck out his arm to block the silver-haired guy’s way, eyebrows raised. He was a little confused, “Where are you going？” —isn’t Hatake Kakashi Naruto’s sensei? Here Naruto was hopping up and down like it’s the end of the world and he’s still ambling in the other direction?

Hatake Kakashi was stunned for a moment too. An Uchiha would ask such a random question of a stranger? He tilted his head, subtly assessing his future student and gave an eye smile, “To see a friend.”

“Ehhh, Sasuke, you know that guy?” Propelled by curiosity, Naruto couldn’t help but lean in.

“Nothing, let’s go. Aren’t we late?” Just recalling Kakashi’s habit of being late, Obito lowered his arm wordlessly. Kakashi internally frowned at the Uchiha boy, who ignored him and turned, heading off with Naruto without looking back. Seems like he was right to ‘accidentally’ bump into them… Kakashi had worried the last Uchiha was unwell when Sandaime revealed in his crystal ball that the kid missed graduation because he was asleep, but now, it seems like there’s something more?

Kakashi lazily steered himself towards the classroom’s direction, still able to hear Minato-sensei’s son’s loud pestering: “Sasuke, who’s that? Who’s that??”

“Shut up,” was the aloof Uchiha Obito’s response.

The second after Obito stepped foot into the classroom……

“Sasuke-kun!” A pink-haired girl shot up from her seat and bounced down the stairs, her face faintly pink. “Did Sasuke-kun have something on this morning? Um, we, oh and Naruto, got put into a team. I– I…”

The girl looked down, faint pink blossoming into a full blush.

(Obito: Uhhh it’s kinda awkward what do I do??_)_

In his last life as a badass boss, Uchiha Obito’s love life had unfortunately halted at a teenage crush. He could face Haruno Sakura who was one of the new Sannin in the Fourth War without batting an eye, but against Haruno Sakura the preteen girl expressing her crush……

Reflexively, he took a hasty step back.

Flames of jealousy raged in Naruto’s heart as he translated the scene in front of him into a romantic one bursting with pink bubbles, and attempted to break the two out of their trance with a deafening yell.

“Ahhhhh where’s our sensei! Why isn’t he here yet!!!”

The distraction proved to be a very effective one, because the next second saw Sakura’s face morph from a girl in love to a girl in rage, and threw a hefty punch into the wall. “Exactly! All the other teams’ sensei have already taken them to train! And our sensei’s nowhere to be seen!”

Obito, who was still thinking about how to refuse without hurting anyone’s heart: ……

“How ‘bout we teach him a lesson, ha!” Naruto grabbed the blackboard eraser with a grin.

——Primary school level pranks.

Sakura hesitated. “That's a little…"

They ended up setting it up, the door slightly ajar to support the blackboard eraser.

Obito shook his head, returning from his daze and curled his lips in disdain for the prank: How could Kakashi fall for such a stupid booby trap!

Not long later, a gloved hand reached for the door knob.

All three sets of eyes inside the room zoomed in onto the hand——even Obito, who had one hundred and ten percent confidence in Kakashi, couldn’t help but hold his breath. The room was dead silent, apart from miniscule sounds of swallowing.

Slowly, the door was pushed open and a silver head came into view……

_“Poof!”_

The eraser fell, bullseye-ing the silver target.

“Hahahahahahaha!” Naruto collapsed in a fit of laughter that was especially outrageous, the only thing he didn’t do was shout aloud ‘our sensei is stupid’.

“Sorry sensei, I tried to stop Naruto, but…” Sakura wrung her hands together and looked down, looking every bit the conscience-stricken good girl——to be honest, if he hadn’t seen how quickly she turned switched faces, Uchiha Obito would’ve believed her too. But now wasn’t the time to think about Haruno Sakura.

(Obito: in denial xN )

So was he actually in a genjutsu? Obito felt his mind starting to cave in on itself, the impression of a silver-haired, sharp and powerful genius swayed, shook once, and crumbled under the image of a lackadaisical jonin with a face full of chalk dust.

And what about the culprit who destroyed Obito’s ideals? 

Kakashi calmly listened to Naruto’s laugh, glanced at Sakura’s pretence of guilt and the Uchiha kid’s disbelief before he began in a half-hearted voice, “Maa, how do I put this? My first impression is… I don’t like you guys.”

_ OOF!_

Naruto and Sakura’s smug enthusiasm was immediately doused in a bucket of cold water from their new sensei, and dark clouds began to gather around their heads. 

Tch, should he say virtue’s a foot tall but the devil’s ten? In the span of ten minutes, his impression of Kakashi crumbled again.

“Eh, wait, aren’t you that guy with dead-fish eyes from earlier?!” Naruto jumped up, having finally recognised Kakashi’s face.

——How dense is this kid?

Kakashi and Obito couldn’t help thinking at the same time.

“Maa,” Hatake clapped his hands, ignoring the various detours they’ve taken during the introductory ten minutes and dragged the conversation back on topic, “let’s do self-introductions first.”

He called it self-introduction, but in reality, the man had only told them a name. Leaning on the rooftop railings, body tilting backwards and gaze clearly not on his students, he had begun absent-mindedly, “Well, my name is Hatake Kakashi… I have no desire to tell you my likes and dislikes… dreams for the future… maa. Hobbies… I have a lot…”

(Naruto & Sakura：Our sensei is 200% unreliable, somebody, help?!)

“I am… Uchiha Sasuke.” As the last one to answer and the only one from a wrong timeline, Obito hesitated for half a moment. “There’s nothing I really like or dislike.”

It felt much easier after the first sentence. Obito snuck a glance at Naruto’s face full of curiosity, and slowly delivered his next line, “Dreams, well, I guess I want to be the Hokage.”

“Eh?! ……EHHHHHH!! AHHHHH!!!” Naruto exploded where he sat and jumped up to face the Uchiha, astonishment rendering him unable to form a coherent sentence, “Sa-sasuke, y-you, you really also want…… AHHHHHHHHH!!!!”

“What!” Sakura smacked Naruto right in the head, having reached the limit of her patience, “Sasuke-kun wants to be Hokage, what, you have a complaint?!”

Naruto: “I, I…… no… QAQ”

“Ahem,” Kakashi coughed into his hand, boxing away his own surprise. “Then, that’s it for the introductions.”

“Now, let’s talk about the test tomorrow: you only _truly_become genin if you pass the test. So, five a.m. tomorrow, Training Ground 3. Ah, and a small suggestion: Don’t eat breakfast——you might throw up～!”

The deceptively light remark was successful in wiping away the carefree atmosphere, and Kakashi stood up, dusting off some remnant chalk dust from his vest before disappearing in a swirl of leaves and smoke. 

_Doesn’t really matter in the end… after all, they probably won’t be able to pass that test, right?_

In front of the Memorial Stone, Kakashi stood for a long time. He stared at the unchanging rock, as if he could see beyond the lifeless name and catch sight of the reckless boy from the past, and smiled.


	2. you from the past, me from the future

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> not edited (let me sleep for 100hours first

Obito silenced his six a.m. alarm and sat up, contemplating whether Ichiraku’s was a good solution for breakfast. As for Hatake Kakashi’s suggestion? Obito snorted; could you really believe Hatake Kakashi?

Ichiraku’s owner was an enthusiastic old man who seemed to recognise Uchiha Sasuke, “Sasuke-kun is a genin now, right? Congratulations! Extra chasuu on the house!”

“Eh? ……Thank you.” Obito paused before mumbling an unnatural thanks.

A spark of nostalgia set off the wildfire of memory in his chest, spreading from his heart.

Konoha.

It was the village he was born in, the village he grew up in, and the village he had turned his back on with all the resolution in the world.

It looked not much different from his memories, even though Obito sat inside the store, he could still see the carved stone faces through gaps between the curtains: four Hokage looked over the village, solemn and steady, as if they were still protecting it. Beside the mountain was a single large kanji for ‘kage’, painted in wild and powerful calligraphy on the Hokage Tower of Konoha. Obito could still remember when he used to stare up the building in awe and yearning, sometimes seeing the Sandaime gazing on the village by the window.

After walking out of Ichiraku Obito ambled along the street, watching villagers who were going about their own day, picking out vegetables from stalls, chatting in groups by the footpath, or leaping from roof to roof…… some were children, like Obito once was, growing up amidst chasing and laughter.

Being honest, Obito had been back to Konoha quite a few times even after he decided to follow Madara, but there was only two times when he had paused to look on at this kind of peaceful routine.

The Kyuubi attack, and the Uchiha massacre.

……What did it feel like back then? The man in a teen’s body hopped onto a random roof— he was used to observing from above, whether it’s on a lamp post, the Hokage mountain, roof tops— so along with the replicated habit, emotions from before rushed back at him too:

Hate, but accompanied by reminiscence.

Reminiscent, but also so determined.  
  
So determined to destroy Konoha, so determined to bury all of the Uchiha.

Infinite Tsukuyomi and its hopes were beautiful enough to make him want to cry, a perfect world that would follow the destruction. It was at his fingertips… as if he could touch it with just another push. It stripped Uchiha Obito of his last shred of longing for this rotten world, village and clan.

Now it all seemed so far away, the calmness and fierce storms brewing under the calmness, all of it felt worlds away.

He crossed his legs, gaze floating back to the Hokage mountain. Even as a somewhat reformed boss of the Fourth War, he felt a patch of softness take root in his heart, the feeling of wanting to protect something. 

When Obito ambled into the training ground, his entire being from top (the absent gaze) to bottom (the careless footsteps) was permeated with an air of arrogance that suggested his contempt for the test.

The hour hand hit nine.

But he had miscalculated.

—Because Hatake Kakashi arrived at ten.

(Obito: Kakashi… I’m pretty sure I was never more than an hour late, right? Isn’t this going too far…)  
  
The jonin lifted his hand in greeting, eyes curved into a smile, “Yo, morning~ A black cat blocked my path, so I had to…”

“Liar!” —was the response from all three students, a feeble accusation.  
  
Obito couldn’t help his nostalgia as he listened to Kakashi explain the rules: really, is the bell test a Konoha thing now?

Accompanying Kakashi’s ‘Begin!’, Obito perfunctorily hid behind a tree.

Though, you had to admit, even ‘perfunctory’ for the Fourth War’s instigator was leagues above genin. At least Kakashi had felt the subtle shift as ‘Uchiha Sasuke’ concealed his presence. The joinin nodded to himself: so that’s the rookie of the year!

So now, it was quite awkward for Uzumaki Naruto, who had strutted in front of Kakashi with an air of sparkling obnoxiousness. Though the genin missed Kakashi’s exasperation in its entirety, (Obito: Who thought that the astute Minato-sensei’s kid would be so… ‘innocent’…) pointing at him with one finger and head held high, “Let’s have a fair fight!”

“……”  
  
Without surprise, the ‘innocent’ Naruto was dispatched by the ‘crafty’ Kakashi in less than three moves and strung up on a tree… _tch, how fitting of Kakashi’s despicable style_, Obito spurned in his head.

Obito wasn’t fooled by the fake openings Kakashi had in his defence, and being honest, he didn’t think he would be bothered to take advantage of a real opening, either.  
  
Just as Naruto was taken down, Sakura’s scream of terror resounded, followed by Kakashi’s lazy drawl, “Only going to spectate? It’s just you now, Sasuke-kun?”

“……” Uchiha Obito turned to see Kakashi only a few steps away, one hand in his pockets and the other holding Icha Icha Paradise, gaze anchored on the open book, as if he couldn't care less about this examination.

Obito seriously just wanted to give up……

But after a moment’s thought, he changed his mind. In Hatake Kakashi’s eyes, all this translated to the Uchiha kid ‘assessing the situation with composure’. Obito untied the shinobi weapons pouch on his thigh and weighed it in his hand before swiping half its contents between all ten fingers— moving unhurriedly through the actions, as if he had no concern about Kakashi attacking.

Kakashi lifted his eyebrows, index and middle finger shutting Icha Icha in one deft motion—this kid was definitely something!

Uchiha Obito tossed the weapons pouch up——

Scattering shuriken and kunai in mid-air——!

Within the second, weapons in the Uchiha’s hand followed. Cold metal clashed in the sky, clinking, colliding and knocked each other into different trajectories——That converged upon Kakashi from all directions in a beautiful but deadly dance.

Hatake Kakashi’s jaw fell. Yes, he had seen Itachi’s nearly legendary shuriken and kunai skills in action before: the Uchiha heir could use the collision of kunai in mid-air to hit seven or eight targets dead centre with his eyes closed, even nailing the blind spots with stunning accuracy.

……who thought the little brother would be just as good?

_Seriously, the Uchiha are scary,_Kakashi mused.  
  
Though, he was sort of mistaken about Obito. After all, Obito was the kid at the academy who would throw all his shuriken without one landing on target. Thankfully, Madara was more than proficient (Madara: No way I’ll lose to Hashirama!), and down in the cave Obito was forced to do some intensive, hellish catch up on his shuriken kunai skills. 

In the present, all Kakashi could do was snap shut Icha Icha – slipping it into his vest, careful to avoid creasing the pages – before lifting his hitai-ate and sweeping the situation with the sharingan. 

Inside a crimson eye, the world slowed down. In that moment even Kakashi couldn’t find an opening, resigning himself with a mumbled ‘troublesome’ as his deft fingers weaved signs in a dance like the flurry of windswept flowers. The earth roared as a mud wall rose like a giant, shuriken and kunai thudding into in its chest.  
  
There was no way Kakashi would stay put behind the shelter. He followed on immediately with another doton and burrowed under, right beneath Obito.

The ground split beside his foot. Obito and Kakashi could be considered long-time opponents, not to mention he fell for this exact technique when Kakashi used it during the Fourth War. The moment the earth as much as trembled, Obito moved… and was caught.

—Because he was in Sasuke’s body. The preteen’s focus had largely been on ninjutsu, taijutsu a secondary concern. In the face of split second changes on the battlefield, the body couldn’t keep up with reaction.  
  
His body was jerked into the earth.

And Kakashi used the force to leap out of the ground. He squatted in front of Obito and eye-smiled, “Ah, that was really close. I nearly lost to my cute little genin.”

……  
  
It’s a little hard after all, Obito thought. But he didn’t really care— this kind of fight was less than a game. He lifted his head—it was a weird angle— and asked a question Kakashi did not see coming,

“Why not use the White Fang and kenjutsu?”   
  
Kakashi paused, eyes widening. He had thought he would be able to understand the feelings of Sasuke, who was proud and considered a genius: after the loss he would have been extremely grudging and possibly seething. There was no way the boy could ask a question so calmly. Besides, how did someone his age know about Konoha’s White Fang?

So when he heard the question, Hatake Kakashi’s hand that had been reaching for Icha Icha paused. The man’s eyebrows scrunched up in the tiniest frown, but unfortunately the mask still obscured just about all of his expression. Only the light-hearted reply could be heard, “Ah. Maa, it’s been so long since I’ve heard that name.” 

Obito waited in silence for his answer, but Kakashi only resumed taking out his book, patting the teen on his head absent-mindedly with a smile as if nothing had happened, “Even though I don’t know where you heard this from, but he’s already dead.”

“But……”

“Maa, let’s say I’m not a fitting son,” Kakashi interrupted, “I will carry on his believes, but not in the form of his sword.”  
  
“Because of Uchiha Obito?”

“……” The smile in Kakashi’s eyes faded some more. The questions this Uchiha kid’s asking are too sharp, and too… bizarre.

Something cold flashed in both of Kakashi’s mismatched eyes, slicing through the lazy demeanour he held onto before his students.

If it was the real Uchiha Sasuke, maybe he would have been unnerved by the unintentional, but frighteningly real, bone chilling killing intent Kakashi spilt. Uchiha Obito, on the other hand, obviously wasn’t. He had asked a knowingly pointed question, but was still staring at Kakashi like he was owed an answer, his own black orbs clashing with Kakashi’s gaze of ice.  
  
“Where did you…” Kakashi began, his voice unlike his eyes, still drawling and lazy, as if he were still joking around with his student.  
  
He was interrupted.

Shrubs beside the duo rustled, Kakashi whipped out a kunai and glanced to the side, the kunai tip seemed to point unintentionally at Obito.

The person that tumbled out was Haruno Sakura.

The girl ignored Kakashi was she looked up, attention taken up by Sasuke who only had his head above ground… the scene seemed to continue the previous genjutsu of Sasuke all bloody and dying.

“Ahhhhhhhhhhh!!!”

Haruno Sakura, K.O.

“……” Obito swallowed silently: Uchiha Sasuke’s face, was that scary?  
  
Kakashi blinked, “Maa, too much genjutsu?”

He pretended not to see Obito’s stubborn stare as he glanced at the fallen girl, then in the direction of the posts, as if sensing Naruto’s plan to steal lunch. Metal and ice cold killing intent in the atmosphere vanished and the man stood up, dusting off invisible particles and gave Obito a radiant smile, “Time for the hero to rescue their princess.”

……

Survival training ended after the interruption with Sakura. Though compared to the dejected girl, Naruto felt much more tragic.

Not to mention he was caught stealing lunch, he’s now the only person that doesn’t get to eat lunch! Kakashi showed no mercy in lecturing the trio in their lack of team spirit before he suddenly shifted. As if sensing it, Obito tried to move away to no avail, backing right into a kunai to the neck and a hand pressing down on his shoulder.

“Sakura! What if I told you to kill Naruto? If you don’t follow the order I’ll kill Sasuke.” The two newly graduated genin went pale as Kakashi’s chilling voice cut through the air.

Obito could feel the kunai beside his neck glance a hair’s breadth away from his skin. Though he knew Kakashi’s wouldn’t kill him, his instincts screamed danger as the weapon’s cold breath chilled his bones. 

“Sasuke-kun! Your eyes!” Sakura cried.  
  
The teen’s eyes had spun into crimson, small tomoe emerging in the orbs.

“……” (Uchiha Obito: subconsciously went for Kamui……)

Kakashi was stunned for a second as he gathered from Sakura and Naruto’s exclamations that Sasuke had activated his sharingan——did he scare the boy that much? Looking to Naruto and Sakura who were both on the edge of tears, Kakashi had no choice but to back down, stepping away and letting go of Sasuke, “There’s training in the afternoon, I hope then you guys wouldn’t be like loose sand by then. Also, to punish Naruto for breaking the rules, he can’t eat lunch, and you guys can’t give him any… that’s my order, and anyone who breaks it can go back to the academy!”

After another round of terrorizing, Kakashi left the three to their own devices.

As soon as he left Naruto’s stomach began protesting, the boy with his blonde hair so similar to his father drooped like a wilted flower, dejected.   
  
Subconsciously harbouring a sensei-complex (not), Obito gave up within the second, handing his lunch over, “I’m not hungry, I ate breakfast.”

“Sasuke…” Naruto’s striking blue eyes widened in shock before tears and a host of emotions gathered in them.

Sakura hesitated as she glanced around, but gave in too, “I’m on a diet recently, so…”

“Sakura… hi-hic….” Having been scorned for all his life, Naruto suddenly felt he was surrounded by love, and tears rolled around in his eyes. Despite his stomach protesting, the boy shook his head and protested by mouth, “I’m not hun-hungry! Hi-hic! Kakashi-sensei said you guys can’t, right? It’s okay!”

Obito didn’t reply. Instead, he picked up a piece of meat with his chopsticks carried it to Naruto’s mouth, “It’s nothing.” Really, it was nothing if he didn’t make genin.

_Besides, there’s no way Kakashi would fail you just like that_, Obito was certain.

—You’re Minato-sensei’s son,

—the hope and hero of Konoha in the future, in a distant war. 

Naruto was dazed: how can he put this… Sasuke was sort of, different? He’s face was still expressionless, the arrogance there still made him want to pick a fight, but when those black orbs turned towards him they were gentle and somehow held… acceptance.

The emotion he had been trying so hard to get out of Sasuke.

Suddenly, wind picked up the leaves and dust in a tempest, smashing away the rare peaceful affection between the three, and with the roaring gale was their sensei’s emotionless, chilling voice.

“You guys…… broke the rules.”

Kakashi lifted his hands as seals formed. 

The sky darkened as wind howled, lightning creamed and the clear sky broke into hell, as if the next moment a storm would swallow the three genin whole.

Naruto burst into tears, “Wait! But, but, but…”

“Wasn’t Kakashi-sensei the one who told us to work together? Then helping each other is a given, right.” Uchiha Obito interrupted Naruto’s stuttering crying, asking Kakashi in reply, “People who abandon their comrades, are worse than scum. Aren’t they?”

……

In the middle of his seal, Kakashi’s hands quivered. 

“Yeah! Thi-this is teamwork!” Sakura stood up against the pressure, kunai in hand and voice trembling, but determined nonetheless. 

“Yeah, yeah! Exactly, dattebayo!” Naruto kicked around in his restraints, agreeing with the two that voiced his thoughts.

—Seriously, these kids.  
  
Kakashi was moved, not only because of the words Obito had once said, but it was like he could almost see shadows of his hero in Naruto——“So this test, you guys…” he paused, finally lowering his hands, as his eyes slowly, slowly curved into a smile that wiped away all the seriousness and the drawl returned to his voice as the jonin continued, “Pass.”

“Ehhhhh?!” Naruto and Sakura shouted.  
  
“I said… you pass.” Kakashi repeated with another smile, looking around. Naruto was crying tears of joy, Sakura let out a breath she didn’t know she was holding and Sasuke, Sasuke’s expression remained indifferent— Kakashi frowned before he forced it back, continuing his explanation, “Sasuke’s right. In the shinobi world, people who don’t obey the rules are scum…… but, people who don’t care about their comrades, are worse than scum.” The silver haired jonin’s voice shed its usual laziness, and each word was spoken with reverence.

It was the first time Haruno Sakura and Naruto saw in their teacher a genuine seriousness, and it had them dazed. Even Uchiha Obito, hearing his childish proclamations so treasured by Kakashi, couldn’t help a sigh.

All that’s happened over the eighteen years, the displaced time and mismatched bodies infused the scene with irony. 

_The you living in the past, and me who’s come from the future. _


	3. wave part i

“Oi oi, Sandaime-jiisan! Why are we only doing these D-ranks?! There’s no difficulty at all ‘ttebayo!”   
Barely a month after beginning his genin career, Uzumaki Naruto’s expectations were cruelly crushed by reality, he slammed a hand down on the Hokage’s desk in indignation—day after day after day of weeding sending letters finding books finding keys finding that damned cat—

Kakashi squinted at his student with dead eyes: great, he’s going to get scolded for the discipline –or lack thereof— of his kids. He boinked Naruto on the head, “Sorry, Hokage-sama, I’ll have a word with him.” Not for the first time, the jonin felt that he was a full time nanny, not a sensei. 

But the Sandaime waved it off with a smile, “It’s alright, Kakashi.”

He was looking at Naruto, though the old man felt like he was looking at a young Minato instead, even if they were quite different. A wisp of reminiscence surfaced in the pair of aged eyes, “If that’s the case, I guess you guys can have a C-rank protection mission, then.”

Mission to Wave. 

Uchiha Obito could vaguely recall the intelligence White Zetsu provided on this particular mission. Something about Kakashi and his team bumping into Momochi Zabuza. Obito rubbed his chin as he began leaking an air of dark menace.

Heh. The only reason Zabuza betrayed Kirigakure was because he wanted to overthrow the Fourth Mizukage…… unfortunately since Obito was controlling him with the sharingan, the Mizukage wasn’t quite conscious some of the time which lead to Zabuza’s near success, and that nearly derailed half Obito’s plans. Though the guy self-destructed— just like the trash he is.

Although… considering the strength of Uchiha Sasuke’s body, he doesn’t really have a right to look down on Zabuza at the moment, does he?

When Kakashi tricked the ghost brothers with a Kawarimi no Jutsu, Obito knew it was to judge the enemy’s target. He hadn’t wanted to get involved, though the Kiri chunin made the mistake of making Minato-sensei’s son their second target.

The first face-to-face encounter with death left Naruto’s hands and feet ice cold and locked his body in place as the chains were about to snake around his body and the claws sink into his hands… three shuriken flew from Obito’s hands as temperature around him seemed to hit negatives, and the Kiri nin were forced back to defence. 

Within half a second Uchiha Obito was behind one, and ended the enemy’s life with no hesitation. 

Blood splattered. Crimson spotted and blotched white shorts, hands, and Naruto’s face. The child who has never seen real death was dazed, eyes wide as he looked at his friend end the second opponent just as easily. He even felt cold, and that cold wasn’t just from the Kiri nin. It was too, from the Sasuke who shushined behind the enemy in a heartbeat and plunged his kunai into them in the same one. The boy who should be experiencing his first fight, just like Naruto himself, had eyes that were so black as if they were ink layered on the canvas of a midnight sky with no stars, like all light had been buried in oblivion, and a man’s life is as insignificant as dust. 

“Are you hurt?” But in the blink of an eye, Sasuke, who was cold to the point of frightening, was worried as he stepped over the bodies and walked towards him. The soft concern on his face as the boy bent down and reached out dazed Naruto again. He stared at him, unable to comprehend the change which happened to fast. 

“Quite well done, huh, Sasuke.” Kakashi muttered to Sasuke in an ambiguous tone as he reappeared. There was no need for him to hide anymore. The jonin eye-smiled at the girl standing before Tazuna, “Sakura too, well done. Though, I certainly didn’t expect Naruto to freeze up… that was a miscalculation.” 

The light sentence roused Naruto’s competitiveness which overtook the fear, the boy shook his head as if to clear any uncertainty and clenched the kunai hard, eyes boring a hole in Sasuke who was looking at him blankly, “I’ll won’t lose to you, Sasuke!” 

Obito couldn’t help his lips quirking upwards at Naruto’s spirit, “Mhmm, good luck.” 

Just like a parent, or one’s elder relative.

And it poured a bucket of cold water over Naruto’s head. The bland tone bothered him… recently Sasuke was being, really, really weird. 

To the side, Kakashi also fell into a contemplative silence. He couldn’t help thinking that it wasn’t the ‘Uchiha Sasuke’ he had knew and heard about. 

  
It was a year after the massacre, one of the few times Kakashi saw him. 

After the academy, the boy had glided through the crowd alone. Despite being surrounded by citizens and shinobi alike as he made his way towards the Uchiha district, he was not a part of them, every fibre of his being seemed to radiate a loneliness, a segregation—and darkness. 

His pace was brisk, bumping into an elderly citizen on the way. 

The boy didn’t stop, instead he was absorbed into another world of his own musings, the exclaim and bustling of the market went unnoticed, ignored, as if he no longer felt the world, and the world no longer wanted him. 

Kakashi knew Sasuke wasn’t inherently an indifferent kid, but when hate crowds the heart, it leaves no room for anything else. 

Like the despair crowding his own heart after Uchiha Obito was buried under cold rocks, and Nohara Rin died by his hand. There was no room for him to feel the weight of life. 

The year after that he joined ANBU and the name ‘Cold Blooded Kakashi’ began to circulate. 

So it was strange to see the Sasuke now. Kakashi could see the darkness, but when the teen faced Sakura and Naruto there were only calm, even patience and kindness. 

The hate didn't control him anymore. 

––it wasn’t what Uchiha Sasuke should look like, not the one just months prior was enveloped in the death of his clan and sea of his hate. 

Though on the upside, Tazuna had no choice but confess to Team 7 the truth after the Demon Brother’s attack, and the teens understood that stronger enemies awaited them if they continued. What they didn’t expect was an enemy so strong that Hatake Kakashi was trapped. 

“Run! His real body can’t leave since he needs to maintain the Water Prison! Use the chance and get out of here!” Despite his words, Kakashi couldn’t help the growing fear: even if the kage bunshins were one tenth the strength of the real Zabuza, it was to much for his kids to handle. Regret for his negligence scorched at his heart as he shouted the orders. Unless… he glanced at Sasuke. Allegiance unknown. The situation seemed to worsen by the second. 

If Obito could here Kakashi’s thoughts he would have certainly agreed: the only capable one, Kakashi, was held captive, and the rest… he curled his lips in contempt, an useless old man, two kids to whom it didn’t make a difference what they knew… it was truly a mess. Obito’s mind jumped back to the Fourth War and was uncomprehending at how their power could have been so nonexistent only three or four years prior— though he conveniently forgot that it only took himself a year to catapult from chunin to behind the scenes Kage.

The orders for escape went in Obito’s left ear and out the right, hoping they could escape was less realistic than hoping they could somehow get him out and turn the tables. But the moment their eyes met as he turned towards Kakashi, Obito was taken aback— the eye that had observed him with more vigilance and suspicion compared to trust were now filled with disproportionate concern. 

Shouldn’t he worry a bit more about himself? 

The unwelcome thought of Kakashi’s back as he said he would protect them with his life when the battle began intruded upon his mind. 

How funny, from when did someone who puts the mission, the village first, start saying things like that?

Feeling agitated for absolutely no reason, Obito thought he couldn’t stand the world any longer. 

—All these boring antics!

Eyes burning scarlet, the single tomoe belonging to Uchiha Sasuke surfaced. Unfortunately, Zabuza had pinned his down as the first target in the same moment, closing the space between them with a shushin. Sparks flew as shuriken and Kubikiribocho clashed in a piercing clang and Zabuza’s eyes widening in the surprise that a genin was able to block his strike.   
  
On the other hand, Uchiha Obito once again felt depressed— as he expected, the sharingan was useless in the mist. It was then he once again felt a deep longing for his own eyes—if only he could use Kamui, he would teach Zabuza a lesson! 

Between another exchange of blows, Obito discovered another infuriating problem as he clenched his teeth— his strength couldn’t match up to the clone. 

What the actual fuck, Uchiha Sasuke, aren’t you a bit too useless! What happened to being prodigy of the year!   
  
As he leapt back to avoid direct confrontation, Obito heard Naruto suddenly yell, “Sasuke, use this!” as the boy ruffled through his pack and a Fuuma Shuriken came flying at him.

The moment it touched his hand, Obito understood it was a shadow clone transformed, and understood Naruto’s plan— no wonder he’s Minato-sensei’s son, coming up with brilliant ideas on the fly. 

The Fuuma Shuriken whirled towards Zabuza, glancing by the clone and heading right at the real body. The mist nin grunted in contempt as he leapt over the weapon. In the next heartbeat the shuriken dissipated behind Zabuza in a explosion of smoke and kunai whizzed at his head! 

The swordsman cursed his underestimation of the brats as he was forced to release the water prison, dodging the attack. 

“Katon— Hosenka no Jutsu!”

From the direction Zabuza’s retreat, flames blazed like hell fire. 

The mist nin grunted as he summoned water from the lake to put out the fire, only to find more shuriken flying at him out of the smoke, one glancing his arm and another embedding itself into the shinobi’s thigh, forcing him onto one knee. 

“Nicely done, Sasuke, Naruto.” Out of the water prison, Kakashi marvelled at how quick Naruto adapted to the life and death of a shinobi fight. A few kunai in hand, he walked towards Zabuza, “Seems like the tables have turned.” 

  
Suddenly, two senbon flew from the branches. 

Clang!

Only to be knocked out of the air by kunai. “Done hiding?” Uchiha Obito looked up with indifference, “Why don’t you come down?” 

He turned towards a towering tree, and from behind the trunk emerged a teen looking no older than Team seven. “Sorry for my interruption. I belong to the assassination squad of the Mist, I would like to ask you to leave Zabuza at our disposal.” 

Before Kakashi could reply, Obito lifted his kunai. “You’ll have to wait after he becomes a corpse.” —does the boy seriously think he knows nothing? The day Momochi Zabuza betrayed the Mizukage, standing by his side was clearly this boy, the boy called Haku. 

“No problems.” The teen replied with two more senbon towards Zabuza. 

Again?! Obito curled his lips, knocking down the weapons as he did before.   
But before he could do more, a senbon pricked his throat, and the emotionless voice of his captor greeted him, “I guess there’s no more use for deception.” 

In that moment, Obito seriously contemplated going to a shrine after the mission and doing some prayers— why are all of them coming at him first? It was the first time in one day a weapon was on his throat, and the former Akatsuki leader wasn’t happy about it. 

Though it wasn’t exactly Haku’s fault. What could the poor boy do? Obito and Kakashi were the only two standing on water, Sakura and Tazuna were both on land and Naruto, who couldn’t stand on water, had already swam towards the shore. Out of the two closest enemies, obviously one had to go for the easier prey. 

In the commotion Zabuza propped himself up with his sword, careful and deliberate. “The tables have turned, huh?” The man looked up, ready to The man looked up, ready to mock some more when he was caught mid action. 

The mist had began to dissipate as Zabuza was injured, and now through clear air the mist nin could finally have a proper look at the boy Haku had taken captive… the boy with two blood red eyes. 

Sharingan! 

An Uchiha!

“Ha… hahahahaha!” He couldn’t help the laughter that burst out in a fit, “Is this the last Uchiha? What a catch! Oi, Hatake, you’re just about out of strength, aren’t you?” The mist nin sneered, “Why don’t you leave this one with us, and we’ll let the old man go!” 

“Either way, you don’t really trust this brat, do you?” 

You always look to him unconsciously, though if that’s the only reason it oud have been interpreted as concern, however, when Hatake Kakashi fought, his back was always, always angled towards the golden haired brat, and not the Uchiha. 

—He didn’t expect Zabuza to be quite so perceptive, Obito reflected, unconcerned, no wonder he was the only one who had survived his class in the Bloody mist. 

Although…

“Stop joking around!” Kakashi pushed himself up with his hands, surveying the enemy who had them pinned in the middle. But despite the circumstances, his back was straight and in that moment, the Copy Nin seemed infallible. 

—No matter how much Kakashi suspected him, the Sharingan served as irrefutable prove, spinning crimson in the Uchiha’s eyes— something that should never be taken away.   
  
Kakashi knew it was bad, they were surrounded, and one of the enemy had a captive. Though, he was glad Zabuza had been hurt quite badly… 

But before he could take the first step, the masked teen warned in a cold voice, “Kakashi-san, I hope you do not move again. I cannot promise the life of this boy otherwise.” 

The jonin froze. 

Unbearably smug, Zabuza drank in the helplessness as he walked towards Team seven’s frozen leader. 

“Oi.” It was Obito who broke the silence of the scene unfolding into dangerous territory; unconcerned with the needle at his throat, the boy raised his head to whisper to his captor. 

Neither Zabuza nor Kakashi could hear what he said, and Haku’s mask perfectly obscured anything that could be red from his face. The next moment, the teen turned to his master. “Zabuza-san, shall we retreat?”   
  
What unexpected words! 

Zabuza gazed curiously at Haku and Uchiha Sasuke for a few heartbeats before lowering his sword in an air of rumination. “I guess this kid really is special, huh. Well then, let’s go.” 

Haku inclined his head, releasing his grip on Obito as the duo disappeared. 

“Oi, oi, Sasuke! What did you say to the mask guy?” Exhaling in relieve, Naruto, who really couldn’t keep still, bounced over to Obito’s side and began his bombardment of questions, “Oh and, and! Why can you stand on water?!” 

“Secret.” Obito glossed over Naruto’s question and walked in silence to Kakashi, “Are you al—“ 

Hatake Kakashi fell straight forward before he could finish. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yo I’m back, apologies for the loooooong wait (sincere)   
Though, better late than never?   
next chapter will be more interesting, promise

**Author's Note:**

> Hey there, thanks for clicking in! Just a note, this work is translated from Chinese, the original work is by the author 带卡厨啦~ from Heinitan, who's also under the ID 一条认命的咸鱼 on LOFTER. 
> 
> I'm just the translator, all credit in creating this wonderful story goes to the author!
> 
> Hope you guys enjoy!
> 
> Link to original work:  
http://www.heinitan.com/home.php?mod=space&uid=2552


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